Speaker Sarah Whalen

As Executive Vice President of Programming and Development at Original Productions, a FremantleMedia Company, Sarah plays an integral role in the “high risk, high reward” genre of television. She nurtures the company’s new and returning series through field and post production while simultaneously supervising the company’s development slate. Sarah joined the company in 2002 as a producer and was promoted to Vice President of Programming in 2011.

Sarah Whalen is Executive Producer of numerous shows including the multiple Emmy award winning show Deadliest Catch, Bering Sea Gold, Jay Leno’s Garage, Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, Netflix’s Fire Chasers, Appalachian Outlaws, The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man, Ice Road Truckers, and Ax Men. She was Co-Executive Producer for three seasons of National Geographic’s groundbreaking show, Wild Justice; a show that was honored in 2013 by the Human Society with the prestigious Genesis Award. Whalen has also supervised American Hoggers on A&E,Whisker Warson IFC, and Black Gold for TruTV.

Born and raised in Bluefield, West Virigina, Whalen holds a Master of Arts in Media and Performance Studies and a Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors in Media and Performance Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Prior to joining Original Productions, Whalen directed behind-the-scenes movie documentaries. She also adapted and directed, numerous acclaimed novels for the stage.